Matt Kane Matt Kane

Fastball

Nostalgia is easy. Easy money. Easy memories. And the peak-and-crash crash rush of the comfortable and familiar, which fades away in an instant.

Inspiration is hard. Achieving it demands vulnerability, cooperation, and a belief that the next thing you create could genuinely move someone’s soul.

Over the many years together, the men of Fastball have come to appreciate that the whole point of their careers together is building off of the trust, creativity and just plain hard work of making inspired music together. It’s a career highlighted by the early career chart-topping success of hit single “The Way,” which guitarist Miles Zuniga wryly remarks, “I like to say that ‘The Way’ gave us the freedom to continue doing what we do.”

What the band has done steadily through the years is continually hone its voice and sound, which has further evolved on its new self-titled album, recorded in far west Texas at Sonic Ranch Studio with acclaimed producer David Garza. Fastball is the fourth album the band has made during a 10-year streak that founders Zuniga, guitarist/singer Tony Scalzo, and drummer Joey Shuffield agree has seen them at their most creative and open-hearted as a trio of musicians and lifelong friends.

It was the realization that the band had a higher purpose than grabbing county fair checks for playing parade-of-hits sets that helped them turn the corner into their most creatively productive period. Zuniga dials the calendar back 10 years and recounts the frustration of an impending journey to a middle-America gig with the promise of a sizable paycheck - an empty promise, it turned out - that provoked an honest talk among the three of them about what they really wanted as a band and as songwriters.

That talk led them to the most open and easy communication they’d had since before they achieved life-altering success. Step Into The Light paved the way for future collaborations with Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin on The Help Machine.

“We started just ramping it up and coming up with more ideas of how we want a next record to be. And then after that, we went into the studio with someone that we've admired for years,” Scalzo said of Berlin’s role as a producer, which extended into some of the material on 2022’s The Deep End. “We each put in a bunch of amazing songs, and we also sat back and let Steve do a lot of things that I don't think would have occurred to us sonically to make a record that showed an unexpected texture for us… I've always been pretty adamant in my songs about how it's going to sound. For me, it's sort of like the idea of giving up a little bit of control and letting him do his producing.”

It is clear in talking to the bandmates that they appreciate the rarity of spending years in a musical partnership together as a stable group, making it possible for each of them to know what the others are going to do next and respond with their own creative flourishes in just the right way. Shuffield notes that in recent years, and especially in the process of writing and recording Fastball, he knows by instinct where his bandmates were headed creatively on stage or in the studio.

“We started communicating way more effectively. And that had a profound effect on everything we did. It made the music better. It made us closer as people. It made us a better band and continues to this day. Now we all talk about everything all the time, and it's a wonderful place to be,” he said. “I love the level of communication we have. I love the closeness that we have on a personal level and a professional level, and that translates into the way we create music.”

The way Fastball creates music has no doubt grown and evolved over the years. Zuniga talks openly about the lessons - good and bad - he learned during his stint as a Nashville songwriter, where three songs per day are the assumed output of anyone trying to work regularly. And Scalzo clearly cherishes the songwriting exercises and sessions he engages in with fellow Austin-area musicians regularly, with shared songwriting prompts or other bits of creative fuel helping to keep his juices flowing.

That embrace of being open to all forms of inspiration - there’s that word again - has helped the now-veteran musicians get past the ego and insecurities all three admit were in play when “The Way” and “Out Of My Head” became world-conquering hits. Ideas and suggestions come from anywhere now, and Scalzo said the sessions with Garza helped push Fastball into new, satisfying directions. He recounts the instructions Garza gave to each of them to write a song solo that could be played and recorded with almost no other contributions. Two of those songs now serve as the last song on each side of the vinyl pressings of the album.

“A suggestion that David made was that we each go off and come back later in the afternoon with a song that we could record by ourselves,” Scalzo said. “Miles would come up with a song and bring it and record it without me, and then I would have to do the same thing. It was a good call that we did with David's suggestion.”

Another highlight of the album, “America,” found the band taking a more restrained, danceable groove approach that Scalzo said forced him to alter his familiar, straight-ahead approach to song construction: “It doesn't sound like anything we've ever done, because usually we've had a little too much fire or at least I know I have just hit things a little too hard for no real reason other than probably earnestness and drive… this song, “America,” we're going into a sort of social commentary about ‘What is America?’ The fact is, America is the people, you and me.”

Spirited by the new material and what feels like an always-growing sense of trust and enthusiasm among them, the men of Fastball are looking forward to spending 2024 taking their newest creation - as well as plenty of the old favorites - out to loyal fans who appreciate their quest to keep moving forward and challenging themselves. Zuniga said the shift to deciding what the three of them want as a band, rather than chasing trends.

“I started to think, I don't have to be buffeted by accepting whatever comes along. I can decide what I'm going to do, where I'm going to put my focus, where I'm going to put my energy,” he said. “I can do what I want to do with these guys. We have to be accountable to ourselves. We had to raise our game. That allowed us to succeed. To me, that was galvanizing.”

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Matt Kane Matt Kane

Tonic

Music always undoubtedly brings us closer together. The connection forged runs as deep as any family bond does. Similarly, the story of Tonic revolves around the longstanding, close brotherhood shared among members Emerson Hart [vocals, guitar], Jeff Russo [lead guitar], and Dan Lavery [bass]. Since 1996, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated multi-platinum trio has consistently delivered anthemic and undeniable rock fashioned from eloquent songcraft, lyrical honesty, and unshakable melodies. Along the way, they translated true experiences and real memories into a storied catalog that resounds as loudly today as it did over two decades ago.

“Sometimes, I’ll see somebody in the crowd who’s not more than twenty-years-old,” says Emerson. “This person will be singing a thought I had in 1995 right back to me: every word and every note. Realizing the power of that was a big moment for me. If there are people in the crowd and we’re playing together, that’s the magic of it. We still love it. There’s an understanding this is bigger than us.”

The songs continue to endure. To date, the band has landed six Top 10 singles, sold 4 million-plus records, and garnered a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations. As the story goes, Emerson and Jeff linked up together in Los Angeles as Tonic during 1994, with Dan joining the group in 1996. Inspired after catching U2’s Joshua Tree Tour in his native New Jersey, Emerson went to L.A., where he and Jeff launched the group. Their full-length debut, Lemon Parade, not only went platinum, but it also yielded the “#1 Most-Played Rock Song of 1997” in the form of the lead single “If You Could Only See.” The band’s follow-up single, “You Wanted More,” served as the lead-off from the platinum Original Soundtrack Album for American Pie and the second full-length, Sugar.

In between a marathon of touring, they released Head On Straight in 2002. The single “Take Me As I Am” received a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” as the album vied for “Best Rock Album”—only to lose to Bruce Springsteen, “which is still a huge honor being from Jersey,” laughs Dan. 

After a five-year hiatus, the three-piece returned to the charts on the heels of Tonic in 2010, landing in the Top 50 of the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart and Top 25 of the Billboard Top Independent Albums Chart. Following a successful Pledge Music campaign, they re-recorded the seminal Lemon Parade acoustically for 2016’s Lemon Parade Revisited.

“The idea was, ‘How do we do something new?’,” continues Jeff. “We wanted to take it back to the origins of the tracks. So, we sat in a room with acoustic guitars and played. It was a gratifying moment. At the same time, it made us realize that we really enjoy making rock. We love the thrill of playing. It’s come full circle recently, and it’s affected what we’re creating now.”

Outside of Tonic, each musician made a pronounced musical impact of his own. As a sought-after composer for film, television, and video games, Jeff wrote the score for HBO’s critically acclaimed The Night Of in addition to composing for Legion, Counterpart, Star Trek: Discovery, and more. He garnered the 2017 Primetime Emmy® Award in the category of “Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special” for Fargo. Dan played bass in the multiplatinum pop rock outfit The Fray before going on to establish himself as a writer and producer. In recent years, he’s been involved in artist management, working with the likes of Joe Jonas and Adam Lambert. Meanwhile, Emerson ignited a successful solo career, including albums such as Cigarettes and Gasoline [2007], Beauty in Disrepair [2014], and his 2019 third full-length 32 Thousand Days.

No matter what, the members of Tonic find themselves coming back together, hitting the road every year. 

“This is like musical home base for us,” Dan leaves off. “From there, we can branch out and do other things, but this is something we all go back to. The fact the three of us have managed to stay together since 1996 with only a few years off is something we’re very proud of. The truth is we’re just three dudes from New Jersey and New York who have the same sensibilities. That’s why we’re still together decades later.”

Jeff agrees, “Every time we get back together, it just sounds and feels like Tonic.”

“The songs keep us around,” smiles Emerson. “We love seeing the excitement in fans’ eyes. We’re all connected. When we play, it’s a moment where we all feel something together.”

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Matt Kane Matt Kane

Collective Soul

Ed Roland can describe 30 years in Collective Soul with two words.

"It's an honor and privilege," said the frontman and songwriter behind the Georgia-born band known for a bedrock of time-tested hits. "It's that simple. Just being able to do what you love, it's an honor and a privilege."

Since launching a major label career in 1994, Collective Soul has charted a path that most rock bands dream of, but only few achieve. They cut through a noisy 1990s rock scene with a knack for stick-to-you-like-glue melodies, roof-shaking guitars, and a touch of Southern grit. Behind enduring singles like "Shine," "December" and "The World I Know," the band hit the ground running for what would not be a short-lived sprint, but a steady marathon of uncompromising - and always catchy - albums. Since launching, they've become one of the most reliable rock bands in America, a tried-and-true force in a world often defined by turmoil and turbulence.

And in the same year the band celebrates three decades of music making, Collective Soul returns with what may be its most ambitious project to-date: HERE TO ETERNITY, a double LP cut in the California home once owned by Elvis Presley. With sharp, polished rock riffs and Roland's signature wise-to-the-world storytelling, HERE TO ETERNITY plays like a full-throttle Collective Soul album from the moment it begins spilling out of stereo speakers.

"When I gave the album to management and radio promo," he said, "I was like, 'Put the needle on any song, I'm that proud of it.""

Roland - alongside brother and co-founding member Dean Roland (guitar), childhood friend and bassist Will Turpin, guitarist Jesse Triplett and drummer Johnny Rabb - decamped for a month to Palm Springs, California, to record virtually all of HERE TO ETERNITY inside a house once owned by Elvis and Priscilla Presley. Called the "Elvis Presley Palm Springs Estate," it's believed to be the only home besides the famed Memphis estate owned by Presley at the time of his death.

Stepping inside the King's one-time California getaway, his influence seeped into the album-making process. Ed Roland and album co-producer Shawn Grove slept in the home for the duration of the sessions, which overlapped with the death of Presley's daughter Lisa Marie in early 2023.

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